A local painter/contractor is now producing podcasts on ‘healthy painting,’ and as far as we can tell, he may be the first Podcaster in the Burien area.

Darryl Whalen, Owner/President of Healthy Painting, LLC, a licensed painting contractor since the late 70s, has produced three podcasts so far, all focused on “healthy painting.”

“I have been listening to numerous podcasts throughout each week, for the past several years,” Darryl said. “When I began to do some research and was able to validate the viability of my doing my own podcast, it began to grow wings.”

“On the podcast, we offer useful information about eco-related products, practices, organizations and groups focused on environmental consciousness & responsibility as well as the general health, happiness, safety and well being of everyone and everything we all share,” he added.

Here’s a Q & A interview we conducted with Darryl between his painting and podcasting gigs:

Q: Why did you decide to do a Podcast?
A: I have been a licensed painting contractor since the late 1970’s. Approximately 4½ years ago I transitioned into changing the name of my company and its focus to that of “healthy painting”. I have since taken trainings through The National Center for Healthy Housing, The American Lung Association and am presently enrolled in training through The Master Builders Green Build program and The NW Eco Building Guild. I was looking for the easiest way to share all I have learned (and continue to) in the area of acting responsible towards ourselves and towards all of the other people, animals, nature and natural resources on our planet.

Q: What inspired you?
A: The source of my inspiration has come from all of the individuals, groups, organizations and companies that have worked to teach about, create and support alternatives to the things that we have been using and doing that perhaps are the not the best or the most responsible choices. I’ve been a record collector since the mid 70’s, a musician & events entertainer since the early 80’s and was a college radio DJ in the late 90’s. I have been listening to numerous podcasts throughout each week, for the past several years. When I began to do some research and was able to validate the viability of my doing my own podcast, it began to grow wings.

Q: How difficult is it to produce?
A: It can be fairly easy to do and the equipment is fairly inexpensive, yet the answer depends entirely on the abilities and resources of each individual. There are people that have thrown together some pretty darn good podcasts, fairly quickly. A few of the key elements are figuring out all the technical audio requirements and learning how to utilize all that is available in the social media/marketing side of things, and then implementing it all. We are learning. Slowly! If I had not taken the initiative to seek out people that had knowledge and experience about how to do this, and had I not been blessed with great people like my friend Tony, who pretty much records, engineers & mixes these things, and my friend Lilly who posts each episode; it may not be happening at all. We continue to learn about and implement many details that are still missing, yet we are doing it and I really love it!?

Q: What is the topic?
A: Basically, HEALTHY HOMECAST is your resource for “greener living”. On the podcast, we offer useful information about eco-related products, practices, organizations and groups focused on environmental consciousness & responsibility as well as the general health, happiness, safety and well being of everyone and everything we all share.

Q: How often will it come out?
A: We have put up 3 episodes so far, and each episode gets put together a bit quicker than the last and seem to be getting a bit better each time. Originally we had committed to at least twice per month, yet we eventually want to put up one episode around the same day and time each week, in order to create and maintain consistency.

We are seeking guests such as licensed contractors, material & supply manufacturers & vendors, lawn & garden experts, general home cleaners, specialty surface cleaners, farmers, restaurateurs, childcare and personal assistance providers, activists, artists, musicians, alternative energy & transportation experts, waste management & recycling experts, scientists and doctors. They will be interviewed with a list of questions we created, to determine if we would be a good match for each other.

Q: Where can people listen to it?
A: People can go directly to the link on the site that archives the podcast episodes here:

Q: Any interesting anecdotes about producing a Podcast?
A: We have never done anything like this before. The trial and error approach to the entire undertaking creates an atmosphere of confusion and silliness, and requires a good sense of humor.

Q: Anything else?
A: First of all, thank you very much for this opportunity. We love Burien and the Burien Blog. We are pretty much running this thing on our own and are a non-profit endeavor at this point, yet if anyone wants to sponsor the podcasts, we would not be resistant. If anyone is really great with engineering, social media, mp3 player imbedding, iTunes, feed burner, etc…, we welcome any input or support. If anyone in Burien is willing to provide a neat little space for us to record the episodes for a few hours per week; please let us know.

We would like people to know that we are available for educational presentations or consultations, and can be contacted by either checking out our business website: http://www.healthypainting.com.